Kaien
by Kuroi-cho-tsuki-shiro
Summary: Rukia meets Kaien Shiba, the man her captain has chosen to train her, and discovers that there is more to being a shinigami than her stoic brother would have her believe. A series of shorts based on the story of Bleach from Rukia's point of view 22
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's Note: If this is the first of my fics you have read, thanks! This is a good place to start. I've just finished telling the story of how Rukia and Renji met and parted and of how she was later adopted into the Kuchiki household. You join her at a point where Byakuya has given her an ultimatum; if she wants the life of a shinigami then she must recognise the need for sacrifice; she must abandon her own feelings, emotions and desires.**_

_**There. Sorry to go all dramatic on you!**_

_**To give you an idea of what's to come,these chapters are going to focus on Rukia's relationship with Kaien, but also on that developing between her and her brother. They take the form of memories during the time of her imprisonment in the Shrine of Penitence. (If you want to read any of the stories that lead up to this point, the links are on my profile).**_

_**Shadewolf7, Truantpony, ForbiddenME, Pinky357, Immortal Vows, Chellythemadhatter, Insomniatic95, Sallythedestroyerofworlds23, UNTensaZangetsu, Xdark FangsX, Superlynx, Ichigo(dot)forever(dot)love, Ennaalemap, Makaykay15, Kaze05, Splash into Forever, War90, Yellowwomanonthebrink, Bakane, Night Flower and Hallmarktrinity, you guys know all this already of course! Thanks for coming with me this far. Thanks for your constinued support. **_

A summer's day. So bright and exquisitely still that even the leaves on the trees seemed to glitter and the sky went on forever. It had been over a year since Rukia had been into the mountains and, even then, it had never been to this range, which was full of rolling hills, green fields and placid farms nestled into folds in the landscape. They were west of Rukongai, in the ancestral homeland of the man who accompanied her. A man called Shiba Kaien.

Ukitake had insisted that Byakuya allow her to rest for a week before resuming her training. In that time, she had regained her strength and a new resolve. She would get better and she would get stronger, but she also knew that she needed to decide, for herself, how much of her brother's ideology she believed. Until now, she had always assumed that her success, as a _shinigami, _would come from hard work, training and natural aptitude. Now she had to decide exactly how much of herself she was willing to give up.

It had frightened her at first, but things were changing. Indeed, they had begun to change the day she met Shiba Kaien.

The squad, as a whole, were wary of her. She had made a poor impression; her abilities were weak at best and, at worst, she was considered an impostor of sorts. To the few who had been born in Rukongai, she was a traitor, having thrown in her lot with the nobility for a quick promotion into the ranks of the _Gotei _Thirteen. To those of noble blood, she was still the girl from Inuzuri, a child born on the streets; they had no time for her brother's facile pretence, though they would have never dared say it to his face. So she knew what they said about her; she knew all the myriad of reasons why she was not one of them. She knew, so why did it still hurt so much when, standing in a waiting room in the barracks, she heard them talking behind the door:

"-Captain Kuchiki's sister."

"Adopted sister."

"She was born in Rukongai."

"You know, he pulled a few strings. She never even had to pass the exams."

"So how did she end up here?"

They fell silent at the sound of footsteps and, a moment later, the door swung inwards.

The man who stood there was not what she expected. He was several years older than her and, from the mass of fly-away black hair on his head to the crawling lines of a tattoo that wound around his arm, he could not have been more of a contrast to her brother. His skin was sun-bronzed and a little weathered. A thin growth of stubble at the base of his chin and a nose that had probably been broken in the past. Yet, in a worldly face, his eyes were bright and laughing.

"So, you're the new recruit!" He raised his voice as if calling to a friend across a distance and Rukia stiffened, uncertain in the face of such enthusiasm. "My name's Shiba Kaien, vice-captain of Thirteenth Division. Our captain's not always in the best of health and can't be around as often as he'd like, so if you sometimes make a mistake and call me Captain Shiba, that's fine too."

"Er. Yeah. Sure."

"Yeah? Sure?" The light in his eyes switched to something like anger: "You're introducing yourself to a senior officer! Greet me with respect and tell me your name, Soldier!"

"Kuchiki Rukia, Thirteenth Squad. I'm very pleased to meet you _fukutaichou-dono!" _Her words tumbled out, spilling into the air between them as his frown transformed into an even wider smile than before and he chuckled; a warm sound.

It had been a test then. No, not a test. It had been a joke.

"Okay, Rukia!" he said, putting his hands on his hips and looking her up and down. He laughed again at her uncertain silence. Then, without warning, he reached out and muzzed the hair on her head: "You're alright, Kuchiki."

And after he left, she stood there a while, patting down the hair that he had swept out of place. When she was certain that it was in order, she glanced after him.

And smiled.

Kaien Shiba was a noble from one of the lesser clans, but there was nothing in his baring that was even remotely reminiscent of Byakuya's poise. He was boisterous and ebullient. Wherever he went people knew he was there and, if he overstepped the mark sometimes, it didn't matter because, in martial skills, he was second to none.

She picked all of this up on the first day of their training together. Instead of retiring straight to the _dojo, _he instead took her on a tour of the barracks. He had been in the human world too long, he said, and wanted to check up on what had been going on in his absence.

Everywhere he went, he was greeted with enthusiasm by his men. Rukia tagged along, feeling largely expendable until he began to make requests of her. They were menial tasks: fetch some water, bring him notice of the whereabouts of this or that _shinigami. _She was simply glad to be useful, but he watched her complete each request with the light of amusement in his eyes.

In the afternoon, he led her outside, beyond the perimeter of the barracks to a lake and parkland behind the _sereitei. _There, he gave her uniform and _zanpakuto _a cursory inspection and, finding them acceptable, asked her to sit down at he lakeside; he would be right back.

The water glittered on the lake. Somewhere in the distance, she could hear a rhythmic clang of swords. So, other _shinigami _must come to practise here. A full week had passed since her clash with her brother and the bruise on her face had faded. Her body felt stronger now.

She still jumped out of her skin when a shadow loomed over her.

For a man with such presence, Shiba was certainly capable of hiding his _reiatsu, _and he could move in perfect silence. He laughed at her reaction and, still standing beside her, lent down and set a cup of sake in her hands.

"Oh." It wasn't that she didn't want it, but she'd never tried it before. Tentatively, she took a sip. The warming effect was actually rather pleasant.

"Why are you so scared of me, Kuchiki?" He flopped down opposite her and watched her over the rim of his own cup. She didn't know what to say so she looked down and wrapped her hands around the drink, letting the liquid inside cool her palms.

"Hey, are you two lovers now?" came a hoarse voice. They both looked up to see a bearded man and a young woman standing just across the water where the lake was narrower. Rukia recognised them as the third seats of her division. By the way they stood, their arms wrapped around each other's waists, she guessed that they were quite drunk.

"Kuchiki-_taichou's _sister getting special treatment?" shouted the woman.

Kaien slammed down the cup and strode straight towards them into the shallow water. Before he reached them though, he stopped, lent down and swept his arms across the surface of the lake, sending up a sheet of water that soaked them from head to toe. And he laughed as they shrieked and staggered away.

Dripping wet, he came back and sat down again opposite Rukia. He was still smiling at his own antics as he spoke:

"For as long as you are a part of my squad, you are under my protection, Kuchiki. I'm responsible for every man – and woman – in this division. And while we're here," he said, lifting the cup to his lips again: "None of us are alone."

That had been the first day, and the second and the third. For an entire week, she did little more than menial tasks. In many ways, it was a reprieve because, in that time, she began training again with her brother's men and found herself much improved for the extra hours of respite. She and Kaien spoke often of battle though. He wanted to know everything about her sword and her technique. Although she was fairly certain she hadn't yet developed any kind of style, he asked her to describe, in as much detail as possible, her most recent combat. When she talked about her fight with Byakuya, he seemed impressed and, at the end, he laughed out loud: "You cut him? You actually cut him?"

"Yes, but only to make him stop."

"Oh" – he chuckled – "I really like you, Kuchiki."

It was Kaien who got her used to her new name and Kaien who made her feel like an ordinary person. Yet, despite his kindness, he was quick to reprimand her. Theirs was a relationship between superior and subordinate. If she stepped out of line, she quickly knew about it and he scolded her whenever she dropped the honorific from his name. It was a reminder, always, of who they were and what they were: warriors whose ranks would always take precedence over friendship.

At the beginning of their third week together, he brought her here, to the green and gold landscape of the hills west of Rukongai. To a path through the forest. To a clearing and a plateau. To a summer's day that was as strange and sweet to the street-child of Inuzuri as it was to the sister of a nobleman and, when he went ahead of her, she ran to catch up, and it felt as if she was flying.

She reached him and kept going. The trees thinned out here; the ground sloped slightly upwards. She might have kept on running forever if he hadn't called out to her: "Hey! Hey! Hey!" She wheeled and came trotting back to him, her face flushed. She was smiling and looked away, almost ashamed to show that delight. So long since she had simply been free to run. Kaien just chuckled: "What's gotten into you?" She didn't answer because she didn't know, but she kept on smiling up at him until he cleared his throat and shook his head, looking embarrassed: "Come on, Kuchiki."

He walked away, moving gracefully. Within two paces, he had drawn his sword and she realised it had been accomplished so smoothly that she'd not seen him reach for it. It was a part of him, as much as his arm, his hand. He turned to face her: "Please defend yourself."

She did.

She had half-expected him to hold back, but instead, he adopted a very similar technique to Byakuya, striking with all the power and strength of his katana in its unreleased form, but giving her a good chance by sticking to a predictable pattern, one that allowed her to practise the same moves over and over. It went well at first, but her strange mood kept drawing her attention back to the landscape. The brilliant sunlight flashing through the trees. An eagle wheeled overhead and her eyes were drawn to it for less than a second, but that was enough.

Kaien tilted his blade under hers and twisted it in such a way that her fingers came loose from the hilt. Her katana span into the air and he caught it effortlessly with his left hand. He wrinkled his nose, not even bothering to hide his disappointment: "What are you doing?"

"I'm sorry. I just" – And she might have completed her excuse had her stomach not chosen to growl loudly at just that moment. She blushed, but Kaien's face brightened with amusement.

"Hm. You're just hungry. Well then, we'd best get out some supplies." He threw her katana in her direction and she squealed and jumped backwards as it fell blade-first. Even so, she managed to catch the hilt:

"I'm sorry, Kaien-_dono, _but would you mind not throwing my katana when the blade is bare?"

He stared at her serious expression then, after a moment, threw back his head and laughed:

"You are something, Kuchiki! You are quite something!"


	2. Chapter 2

**If you enjoyed this story, please check my profile page for the next one.**

**If I have put this message up it means that the story will continue in a separate installment, which I upload to my profile immediately after posting this**

**There are quite a few one-shots in the upcoming series. I hope you don't mind. It's just the way I originally wrote it before I knew I was going to upload it all. (I blame Kaien; for some reason, he seems to have made me write one-shots)!**

**All my thanks and appreciation to regular readers:**

**Shadewolf7, Truantpony, ForbiddenME, Pinky357, Immortal Vows, Chellythemadhatter, Insomniatic95, Sallythedestroyerofworlds23, UNTensaZangetsu, XDark FangsX, Superlynx, Ichigo(dot)forever(dot)love, Ennaalemap, Makaykay15, Kaze05, Splash into Forever, War90, Yellowwomanonthebrink, Bakane, Night Flower, Hallmarktrinity and Tiffany Park**

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